UNITE
PROF - DANIEL ROEHR
A8 - 1 - TUNING IN & WINDPLAY
06/10/23
49.26048742019998, -123.25082245950983
A1 - Time to Align
A2 - Adding Dimension
A3 - Mapping
A4 - Above, At & Below Ground
A5 - Using Our Hands
A6 - 1 - Tactile Body Space
A6 - 2 - Flow of Experience
A7 - 1 - Forest vs Engine
A8 - 1 - Tuning In & Windplay
A8 - 2 - Sonicollage
A9 - Smell Notes
A10 - 1 - Taste Rave
A10 - 2 - Drinking Object
A11 - 1 - Seeing > Visual Thinking
A11 - 2 - Pattern—Re—Pattern
A12 - Summary
In class experience.
I am in a ~9x9 sqft room sitting on a carpet next to the piano.
Daniel plays some of his compositions. He’s self-taught.
The left side of my body is obsorbing most of the impact of the strings being gently hammered while the piano is played.
Process
In the days that followed, while letting the question of sound and the sense of hearing sink in I was reminded of a passage from one of my favourite books: Anam Cara, by John O’Donohue. One evening my partner’s hands opened the book and she began to read it, subconsciously in tune with my mental journey that week. The words offered a walk through life's seasons with the wisdom of the Celts. It is both poetic and philosophical in holding an open hand for phenomena such as friendship, the sacredness of being alone, the depth of love, and the mystery of life's end, all while questioning whether our digital connections truly bring us together. Holding hands with this book is like a an intimate walk, showing that life, like the Celtic circle, is a series of interconnected, meaningful moments.
This particular passage is related to sound and listening, and what moved me in particular was the reflection on the womb and mother’s role as both the instrument and musician (at least that’s how I see it).
The words returned my body to the small room where I sat next to the piano and explore the transience and liminality of sound as another form of touch. The video result is carried by a reimagined soundscape using a small section of Daniel’s performance that day.